10/30/2014

The results revealed that 90% of job seekers utilize mobile devices to conduct key functions when looking for their next career opportunity. Only one in 10 workers isn’t using mobile applications.

Lee Hecht Harrison surveyed 375 job seekers via an online poll in October 2014 asking, “How do you use a mobile device for your job search?” The results found:

Search for jobs

33%

Research companies

22%

Online networking

20%

Apply for jobs

15%

I don't

10%

“Landing a new position requires more than a great resume – it requires speed, connections and flexibility,” said Greg Simpson, Senior Vice President for the career transition practice at Lee Hecht Harrison. “Mobile technology is profoundly altering the ways job seekers find employers and employers find prospective candidates – enabling companies and job seekers to search smarter, connect faster and hunt anywhere, anytime. Going mobile keeps job seekers connected and facilitates the quick response needed when applying for an open position.”

02/03/2014

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, a time when some people buy flowers, candy, jewelry and more in the name of romance. As the lines between work and personal time continue to blur, those who make a love connection in the office might find it harder to separate the two.

Respondents indicated that nearly one out three (31 percent) had dated a co-worker and one out of ten (10 percent) had dated their boss. Likewise, one out of ten respondents who dated a supervisor found themselves discussing work for more than an hour per day outside of office hours.

And while one out of ten have faked a job-related emergency to get out of a bad date, twice that number (23 percent) admitted to checking work email during any date at all. Of those who checked email during a date, one-third did it because they felt that they had to, while one in five simply wanted to.

“People are connected to their jobs more than ever,” said Dean Debnam, chief executive officer of Workplace Options. “Although it can be beneficial to have instant access and tempting to look at your smartphone, taking some time to unplug can boost productivity at work and satisfaction with work-life balance.”

The national survey was conducted by the North Carolina firm of Public Policy Polling, January 23-26, 2014. The survey polled 693 working Americans and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7%. View complete poll results HERE.

01/24/2014

TheWomen 2.0 Conferenceis taking place on Feb. 13 & 14, at the Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 8th St., San Francisco. This conference is all about giving founders, investors and tech company leaders the information and connections they need to thrive in today’s outsized reality.

The mission of Women 2.0 is to strengthen technology businesses by connecting, inspiring and educating the next generation of technology leaders. Women 2.0 lives in the future, today – we see no barriers, we see no boundaries, we only see a meritocratic business landscape.

Background: Women 2.0 was founded in April 2006 with the vision to make a difference — with 30% of tech workers being women, 10% female founders, 10% female investors, 24% women sourced in news — something had to change. We became passionate about catalyzing this change. We saw how important it was to have more women in technology as leaders, founders, investors. As our passion project – we, the founders, hosted networking events in our own apartments, open to men and women (to complete strangers!). After 5 years of operating Women 2.0 as a “side project” and being pulled by the momentum of the growing community, we have grown Women 2.0 into the leading brand for the next generation of technology leaders. Everyday our work is inspired by the fact that we get to be the change we want to see in the world.

01/20/2014

Owning a Web business is well within reach for most people. Over 6 million businesses are started each year and a large percentage of those are based online.

Most websites don't make it.

Yet, the reality is that more than 90% of all Internet start-ups end in failure in the first 120 days. They close up shop before earning enough to cover their costs, but luckily, most websites are started with very minimal expenses. That means there's not much at stake if it doesn't succeed. In other words, the risk is very low, especially compared to the potential reward.

Facebookwas started by one guy in a college dorm room and is now worth billions of dollars. Pinterestwas started by three friends in an apartment and now has an estimated worth of over a billion dollars. Craigslist was started by one guy and is now worth billions. eBay was started by one guy in San Jose, CA. It now owns dozens of other sites, including PayPal, and has a market value of around $60 billion.

The trait of most successful start-ups is that they targeted a very small niche, at least in the beginning. This allowed them to focus their limited resources on a much smaller audience. It also allowed them to provide very targeted products and services to make their customers happy.

Another trait shared by most successful start-ups is a powerful customer value proposition. Your value proposition is what sets you apart from the competition and why someone would choose you over them.

Facebook is a great example for showing the power of a good value proposition because they succeeded in knocking MySpace off the social media pedestal when no one thought it was possible. Facebook was highly adaptive. They were one of the first companies to provide an open API (Application Programmer Interface), which allowed outside companies to use their data. This gave rise to games like Farmville and MafiaWars, as well as social dating sites and a whole slew of other party services.

The simplicity, speed, exclusivity and adaptability of Facebookcombined to create a very powerful customer value proposition, one that MySpace hasn't been able to overcome. You can learn from successful start-ups and model their traits.

It's very important to understand your goals and motivations. Sit down and write out your personal goal for starting a Web business. There is no wrong answer. It's purely on what's important to you.

Because only one percent of the workforce can afford professional coaching services, I also provide low-cost self-coaching books; at prices so low that as many people as possible are able to afford and use them in their personal and professional lives.

Here are some of these self-coaching books delivered to your smart phone, tablet, eReader, and computer or via low-cost paperback editions.

01/16/2014

35% of all businesses in the United States use Skype as their primary means of communication. In today's increasingly interconnected world, virtual meetings have become a staple of business practice. Unsurprisingly, so has the digital interview.

Physical distance between potential employers and job-seekers is no longer the impediment it once was for the face-to-face engagement. In the past year alone, the number of people who use Skype for this purpose has risen from about 300 million to more than 405 million.

01/23/2013

Most people think they will get their next job thanks to networking, according to a new poll of nearly 600 U.S. and Canadian workers by Right Management.

Whether currently employed or unemployed, half of those surveyed expect that person-to-person networking is how they will find their next position, while one in five think it will come from a posting on an Internet job board.

According to the survey, 19% believe their next job will come about because of an employment agency or recruiter. And 8% imagine it will result from cold calling, or contacting a prospective employer directly. Only 1% expect a newspaper ad to play a role.

How do you think you will find your next position?

Networking

50%

Job board

22%

Agency/recruiter

19%

Direct approach

8%

Newspaper/periodical

1%

“These findings track well with actual outcomes,” said Monika Morrow, Senior Vice President of Career Management at Right Management. “It turns out that face-to-face contact is how more than half of our candidates find new employment based on firm data for the past five years, although nowadays job searches may begin through social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. By itself, however, job boards are about half as effective in actual circumstances, just as the individuals surveyed anticipate.”

“There’s constantly something new in the job search world, particularly as it relates to social media,” observed Morrow, “whereas for years recruiters have been losing ground to the Internet and social media. Likewise, classified print ads hardly play a role any longer. But all tools and approaches should be used along with traditional networking given that one frequently leads to the other.”

“What’s also striking about the findings,” Morrow said, “is that both the employed and unemployed have become increasingly savvy about the job search process. For years they’ve been bombarded with job search advice, and ‘networking’ is invariably the core of the message. And it’s also true that many people have been through job searches in the past, and they’ve learned how it works.”

Right Management surveyed 557 employees in the U.S. and Canada via an online poll that ran from December 16 through January 15, 2013.

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to create a profile of your important professional and social contacts. In it, note things of significance about the people you meet: their source of expertise, where they live, their profession, personal interests, affiliated organizations, etc.

Executives recognize that there is an 'invisible' structure of personal and business networks within their company that define the true influences and interdependencies. They also know how to access and leverage those resources. Effective career women are strategic in the way they share knowledge. They use their knowledge to earn trust and build their reputation within the company.

When done correctly, social networking is the equivalent of being an exceptional host. Great networkers interact with sincerity and look for ways to make others feel comfortable in communicating joint interests. If you learn of a way to be helpful during the interaction, then by all means offer and follow up immediately. Examples include introducing them to someone who shares a mutual interest, sending them an article, or referring a contact.

Networking is a mutually beneficial relationship, not an opportunity to see what you can gain. If you find these social situations uncomfortable, then by all means learn from someone who is comfortable in sharing knowledge. Watch and listen to the ways they interact with their social networks.

01/11/2013

In today’s economy, where jobs are still scarce and the competition for open positions is fierce, how does a company know they have selected the best candidate for an executive position?

Hiring at the executive level needs to be thorough and precise. Often these individuals become the face of your company. As the company voice, executives often appear in print, television and online media outlets. You want your company to carry a positive brand image, and this can be quickly damaged with a bad hire. Therefore, it is imperative to know more about your candidates than what they give you on a resume and in an interview.

Many executive screening packages only look at qualifications, work history, education and public records. To help develop the “big picture,” many companies are looking to add media screening when hiring at the executive level. Media screening is a comprehensive search through various databases to access thousands of news sources including newspapers, trade publications, professional journals, articles, transcripts and numerous others.

The results of this search can include award nominations and other achievements by the applicant, and community and industry association involvement, business and job disputes, references to criminal activity and other potentially negative information.

Media screening pulls all results from published items and periodicals that include the individual’s name and other defined criteria. This part of the screening process helps you see the kind of person you are hiring.

Media searches can complement your background screening efforts by providing information about incidents or investigations that may not be reflected in official records. Has the individual been unfavorably portrayed in the news? Are they involved with an organization that has a conflict of interest with your company?

Media screens also highlight the positives about an individual that might not come through in the interview process. Are they a volunteer? Have they taken part in speaking engagements? Are they a thought leader in the industry on a specific topic?

Employers need to weigh the information that has been ‘published’ versus what has been ‘posted.’

Media screening is just one part of the bigger picture, including litigation screening, corporate affiliation searches, bankruptcy records and even tax liens. Many companies do not know they have these additional screening features available to them, but these extra searches could be a brand differentiator.

A professional background screening vendor has access to periodical search engines and databases that can define refine and conduct your media screen. Taking this extra step provides due diligence for the organization and may help avoid costly brand damage.

About the author: Jeff Wizceb is the Vice President of Business Development and Account Management for HR Plus. Core services of HR Plus include background screening, drug testing and fingerprinting. For more than 40 years, HR Plus has provided thousands of clients with quality background screening solutions.

10/19/2012

Q: I'm a woman executive with an information technology specialty in a large company. What can I do to improve my chances of moving up the corporate ladder?

A: Throughout our career, we continuously learn about our management style, how we lead others through interpersonal communication and how we cope with stress and other workplace challenges. Becoming more self-aware gives us great leverage in consciously exhibiting the type of behavior that gets us where we want to be.

Seeing ourselves clearly does many things: It allows us to control impulses and select the most appropriate behaviors. It shows us how to avoid reacting in negative and potentially self-limiting ways. Knowing our strengths and limitations makes us more understanding of others. Gaining an understanding of issues reduces conflict in us and at work.

Our perceptions represent the way we see how the world works and they also strongly influence those we live and work with. Catalyst, a New York nonprofit research group, asked 296 executives of both genders to rate by percentage the effectiveness of female and male leaders on ten different leadership behaviors. Both genders said men are better at networking, influencing upward and delegating. “Women as well as men perceive women leaders as better at caretaker behaviors and men as better at take-charge behaviors,” says Ilene Lang, president of Catalyst. “These are perceptions, not the reality.”

Three decades after droves of women started business careers, and at a time when fifty percent of all managers and professionals are female, women still comprise fewer than three percent of Fortune 1,000 CEOs and just eight percent of Fortune 500 top earners. Women are severely underrepresented in leadership positions across industry sectors. The percentage of women Executive Officers and board directors in Fortune 500 companies is stuck in the teens and single digits, while only about 26% of Senior Officers and Managers are women. The glass ceiling remains unbroken.

A survey of women in high tech by Deloitte, the accounting firm, and pollster Roper Starch Worldwide reported that three of every five women in the information technology industry would choose another profession if they could, because of a perceived glass ceiling. Women, surveyed by Deloitte and Roper, say they're perceived as less knowledgeable and qualified than men. One woman surveyed says that women have a tough time "being taken seriously" in high tech.

Every corporate culture has ingrained biases where management attempts to maintain the status quo. This cultural immunity to change is especially difficult for women being denied promotions when the leaders of the company don’t realize they are doing it. If men don’t think women belong in corporate leadership positions, they can create subtle male resistance in work environments where women find it difficult, if not impossible, to move up.

Since male executives have shaped the culture at most companies over time, women are at a disadvantage when it comes to gender-based differences in communication styles. A report, "Women and Men in U.S. Corporate Leadership: Same Workplace, Different Realities?" by Catalyst found that 81% of women said that "adopting a style with which male managers are comfortable" is an important or very important strategy to advance one's career.

Communication styles rooted in childhood training or unconscious beliefs can be tough to change. A first step is becoming aware of how you talk at work. Here are some pitfalls that women especially can encounter in the workplace:

--using too many words to deliver serious messages--downplaying your contributions--using vague language--phrasing statements as questions--using an upward inflection at the end of statements, which indicates doubt.

Working with a mentor or personal coach can help you to be clear on the communication style at your level within the company and to confidently practice this style so you will be heard at work.

People who solve any serious challenge are the ones who change the way they think about themselves. They convince themselves that they can change, and they do change. Believing comes first, then change, not the other way around.

02/05/2012

For all her roles and titles, Ms. Sandberg is about to add one more: billionaire.

Yes, if all goes well, she will soon become the $1.6 billion woman. On Wednesday, Facebook filed to go public in a deal that, in all likelihood, will instantly make it one of the most valuable corporations on the planet.

According to Facebook’s filing last week, Ms. Sandberg made nearly $31 million last year, including base salary, bonus and $30.5 million in stock awards. She owns 1.9 million shares in the company and an additional 39 million in restricted stock options. If Facebook goes public at a valuation of $100 billion — which Wall Street sees as a possibility — her stake could be worth as much as $1.6 billion.

But Ms. Sandberg, who has helped steer this social network to this once-unimaginable height, had more on her mind than securities filings and ad metrics. She was attending the annual World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, where her subject wasn’t Facebook — but women. Specifically, how women, in her view, must take responsibility for their careers and not blame men for holding them back.

Ms. Sandberg has said that women drive 62 percent of activity on Facebook in terms of status updates, messages and comment. Women also drive 71 percent of daily fan activity. Women have 8 percent more Facebook friends than men, on average, and spend more time on the site.

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